Nameless
by Unexplained-Silence
Summary: She was not the first pony to become an alicorn. I was. But things didn't turn out so well for me.
1. 1: On Ice

A/N: I really need to stop with the new stories and work on the ones I have already. But the bunnies all flee when I bring them home, and then new bunnies mob me. Does anyone know how to fix that?

Anyway, this idea spawned when I watch Hearth's Warming Eve. I felt that someone needed to do some more with the windigos, so I did.

I wouldn't call this a self-insert, but it is OC-centric. So if you don't like OC-centrics, it won't hurt my feelings if you don't bother.

Also, this will probably have some spoilers, so this is this is the only warning you get. To the story!

* * *

I never have liked the light of day very much. In fact, my hatred of brightness was my downfall, however foolish and cliché that sounds.

Although, it's actually not the light itself that I hate. It's what comes with it.

Her.

_Celestia. _

A shudder passes through my mostly frozen body. My ice-filled heart twists in hatred to even think the accursed name.

Luna was always more bearable. She holds the power of night, the power of darkness in her hooves. It is a wonderful gift. But it isn't just her gift that I like. It is her strength. She has never bowed to the whims of others, always standing her own ground.

I always liked that about her. That is, until she gave in to her greed.

I don't blame her for wanting more. In fact, I support her. She was always the Second. The Second choice, the Second voice, the Second in line. She lived her entire life in the shadow of her sister. It was inevitable that she tire of it.

But it was foolish of her to try.

For one, she left the Elements of Harmony in the possession of the Day alicorn. The Elements were the only thing that stopped her in her quest. As Nightmare Moon, she held more power than her sister, but not more than the gems.

For another, she confronted her sister head-on. Celestia is unfortunately rather clever. By outright attacking Celestia, she allowed herself to be defeated and banished. Luna was lucky that she survived. I would not have left such loose ends, even if the 'loose ends' were my sister. Even if the loose ends were Luna. Although I must say I am glad that at least one of the Princesses is worth keeping around.

There is Cadence, the Alicorn of Love. The saviour of the Crystal Empire. Bane of King Sombra. And now the Crystal Empress.

For being the living symbol of love though, she's not all bad. She managed to drive away the repulsive changelings and their Queen. She's managed to restore the glory of the Empire.

But she also killed King Sombra.

She destroyed my only friend over the centuries. No matter how strong her heart may be, no matter how strong her magic, her _love_, I cannot forgive that.

Flames spark from my horn, partially melting the ice surrounding me.

For that she must pay.

Celestia and Cadence must be exterminated like the pests they are. Perhaps Luna may live to be my slave, if she so chooses. This part of my plan has been finalized for a long time.

But then there's this new Princess, this Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Dusk and Dawn. The Bridge between night and day.

The first pony to capture Alicorn magic in over thirteen centuries.

I'm not sure about her yet. She did have a hand in destroying Sombra, so that's one mark against her. But her magic is unparalleled by even the great Celestia. One mark for her.

She banished Discord back to the stone prison he spent so much effort on escaping. One against.

She finished Star Swirl the Bearded's last spell. One for.

She is Celestia's student and protege. One against.

She saved Luna. One for.

I can't decide.

She is a loose variable. She must be accounted for.

But she is so young. So unpredictable.

How can I account for something I don't know anything about?

_You could always learn more..._

That's true. But watching her has gleaned almost no information, other than the obvious things like 'savior of Equestria' and such.

Frost and flames battle for dominance. Heat licks up my spine to be instantly chilled by ice, only to be melted again by fire.

_Use us. _

You are far too valuable for me to waste on something as simple as spy work.

_ What else do you have? What other choices? _

Point. But the new generation is weaker than you are, and therefore less valuable. I will use them.

_No need to fret. There will soon be hate in the hearts of ponies again. The new spirits will soon be strong. _

May we hope.

For the first time since I was trapped here, I open my mouth and speak.

"My children, go forth to Ponyville of Equestria. It's time I learn more of this new princess."

To any other, the shrieking of the winter spirits would be incomprehensible. But I understand their words. I feel their excitement, sense their joy as they gallop on the winds.

I am the only one who understands them, because I am the one who created them. Centuries ago I mixed the ice in my heart and fire in my soul and gave them life. They are my servants, my children, my beloveds. Through them, I watch what happens in my kingdom. My land.

When Nightmare Moon was banished to the heavens, I watched. When Discord was driven from his chaotic reign, I watched. When King Sombra dragged his Empire into grief and despair, I watched. When the three pony tribes sought shelter from my blizzard, I watched. I was trapped here even then.

I was here when Discord appeared for the very first time to purge the land of alicorns. I watched the magic-filled blood flow in rivers.

I am here because the King and Queen of the Old World couldn't trust me. Because I was a threat to the land. Because they thought I was dangerous.

Because when I gained my horn, I relished in the power it gave me. Because I took a sick pleasure in my new-found abilities.

Because the Heavens and the Earth of the old world couldn't trust me. Couldn't love me. Couldn't stop me.

Twilight Sparkle isn't the first pony to become an alicorn.

I am.

* * *

By the way, the name of this fic is actually "Nameless." Just thought I should say that, because I've seen stories published that don't have a title yet, and this kind of seemed like that to me. I'll explain the title in one of the next few chapters, probably the second one.

Now give me all of your feels! Please? O-O


	2. 2: Awake

Hey look an update! Those are rare, you know.

First of all, big thanks to everyone who's read and faved/followed/reviewed. It means so much to me.

Also, I forgot this in the first chapter, but I don't own the ponies. The only characters I own are Nameless and some of the windigos. By the way, only parts from Nameless's POV will be in first person present tense.

* * *

Princess Twilight Sparkle watched the show with rapt attention. She'd always liked music, especially classical.

High Princess Celestia had personally invited her and her friends to see the artist Octavia's show. It was a wonderful performance, with excellent composition and exquisite talent.

Twilight couldn't help but feel that the offer was to butter her up for something, though. It wasn't that she didn't trust Celestia, quite the opposite in fact. But the High Princess _had_ told her that they needed to discus something about her new-found powers, and her tone had been grave.

For now though, she was enjoying the talent of the performers with her five closest friends and trusting Celestia.

"That was the best show ever!" Pinkie Pie, as per the norm, was bouncing excitedly down the street after the show ended. It had been afternoon already when they'd entered the theater, so when they exited night had already fallen.

"Even better than Hinny of the Hills?" Applejack asked, closing the door behind her as she did.

"That one was great too!"

"Eh, all that classical stuff was too dull for me. I like rock and roll better." Rainbow Dash flew overhead, performing a simple dive stunt when she mentioned rock music.

"I liked it." And of course, Fluttershy would timidly put in her part.

"Yes, the costumes were simply to die for. Absolutely fabulous!"

"You're right, Rarity. They were. The entire show was remarkable." Twilight said, giving voice her enthusiasm.

The seven—six ponies and a dragon—chatted about the show for a while longer, but a sudden chill made Twilight stop and shiver.

"It's the middle of summer! It shouldn't be this cold." A chorus of agreements followed Rarity's complaint, and the group made for a small cafe on the side of the road.

Twilight was the last to enter, having opted to hold the door open for her friends. Just as she was about to enter, motion out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked for the source of the flash of white she'd seen, but there were no white ponies anywhere in sight, and there were no white banners hanging in the street.

She dismissed it as nothing, and turned back to enter the shop.

And froze.

She saw it there, reflected in the glass of the windows. A winter spirit. A windigo.

Her heart had frozen in fear at first but was now beating wildly against her ribs. She could feel herself shaking slightly, but could not tear her gaze from the thing.

It was just standing there, about four feet behind her, holding her in its icy gaze. She couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe as long as it was there. Windigos shouldn't be here. Here, in Canterlot, in the middle of summer? It was impossible!

The spirit snorted as though it had read her thoughts. The action caused a gush of cold air to hit her flanks, raising goose flesh.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" She heard Rainbow Dash's concerned tone, but it didn't break the trance she had fallen into.

The howling of the wind reached her ears as the spirit reared up and whinnied. The sound sent shivers down her spine.

When she didn't respond, Rainbow Dash poked her head out of the cafe and asked her again. And again she received no response, so she followed Twilight's gaze to the window. To her, there was nothing odd about it, nothing in the reflection but herself, Twilight, and the hoof-full of ponies on the street.

"Don't you see it?" Twilight's gaze was still locked with the spirit's, but Rainbow's appearance had roused her enough for a response. A shaky response, but a response nonetheless.

"See what? Twilight, there's nothing there."

How could there not be anything there? The windigo was _right there_. Rainbow should be able to see it!

Using all of her focus, she tore her gaze away from the window to look behind her.

There was nothing.

Desperate now, she turned back to the window, only to cry out from fear. It was still there, closer now. _Right behind her_.

Unconsciously Twilight took a few steps back to get away from the image in the window, but realized what a mistake that was when she was encompassed in a cloud of numbing cold and immediately collapsed. In the window, she saw the windigo, and she saw herself in the same place. It was impossible. The laws of physics didn't allow it.

But yet it was there, almost as if the spirit were haunting her.

She had to move, had to get away.

She couldn't feel her legs, probably couldn't move if she wanted to.

Wait! She had magic!

She summoned her magic to teleport, but the spell wouldn't work. How could it not work?! She was the best at magic! That's why her cutie mark was magic!

Rainbow Dash was saying something, or yelling it, and there were other ponies around her now.

But she couldn't look away from the horrible lifeless eyes of the spirit in the window.

She didn't know how long it lasted, but after what seemed like eternity, the spirit snorted again, reared up on its hind legs, and vanished in a whirlwind of wind and cold.

The ponies around her were talking and yelling, and Twilight thought there was a medic but she couldn't really focus to see if there was or not.

It was gone.

But it wasn't, because it had been there in the first place.

She could not get the memory of those cold, heartless eyes out of her head.

After a moment, she realized that somepony had lifted her onto a medical stretcher. The numbness had started to fade, and she could see that she was in an emergency carriage.

"What happened?"

Twilight looked up into the worried face of Applejack and gave a small moan of relief when she saw all of her other friends were there as well. But most importantly, there were no windigos, and it was warm.

"I d-d-don't kn-know." Twilight tried to answer, but her teeth were chattering so much. "I w-was going i-in when I s-saw someth-thing in the window-w."

"Calm down, sugarcube. You can tell us later. Right now we gotta get you warmed up."

Twilight was grateful for the concern that her friends showed, but she was inwardly shocked. Nopony else had seen it?

* * *

"Princess Celestia! A message from the Royal Physician." The messenger bowed before the white alicorn, waiting for her approval to continue.

Celestia noticed the frantic state the messenger pony seemed to be in, and immediately dismissed the palace officials not engaged in anything. After thanking and dismissing those who were, the throne room held only Celestia, the messenger, and Princess Luna.

"Continue."

The messenger pony straightened and took a few breaths before beginning. "It's Princess Twilight. She collapsed and is with Doctor Fixit now."

Celestia didn't waste any time. She was on her hooves and running to the medical wing of the castle. It was a small wing, but still a wing.

Within five minutes she was bursting through the doors to the med bay, Luna on her heels.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

The royal physician, an earth pony by the name of Doctor Fixit, looked up upon her arrival but quickly went back to analyzing Twilight's vitals.

"Ask the pegasus, she was there." Fixit gestured to the waiting area where Twilight's friends were waiting anxiously. Knowing Fixit, they'd probably been forcibly put there.

Rainbow Dash launched into the air when she heard Celesita's voice, eagerly flying over to tell the Princess.

"It was after the show. We were walking back to the castle when it got really chilly all of the sudden, and we went into a cafe to get out of the wind, except Twilight didn't go in. I didn't notice it at first, but she just standing in the door and staring at the window. I think she saw a reflection of something, because she asked me if I saw it or not." A reflection? For a moment Celestia was clueless, but then a dark suspicion crept over her. _Please, let it not be Her._ "Then she backed up and just collapsed!"

Celestia turned back to the doctor, who had finished hooking Twilight up to monitoring machines and an IV drip. "What's her state?"

"Core temperature was nearly freezing, but is raising steadily. Heart rate was doubled, and blood pressure was high. She's in shock, because those idiots in the ambulance thought it would be a good idea to wrap her up in a thermal blanket. Don't they know that they have to be warmed up slowly?"

_No. It can't be. She's dead. _

"Did she say anything?" Celestia banished her treacherous thoughts. It couldn't be Her.

"Nothing comprehensible. She was just muttering something about ice spirits, but that's the shock speaking."

It was Her.

Celestia used her Mind's Eye to see the prison She was encased in. She was still there, as still and frozen as ever.

But there, at the corner of her mouth, was just the barest flicker of a smile.

Then She opened her eye and looked directly where Celestia's viewpoint was.

_"You know I don't like being spied on, Sun. It's not very nice."_

With a cry, Celestia cut the flow of magic and returned to her body in the med bay, but not before she'd seen the smile widen into a mad grin.

She was awake.

Nameless.

* * *

Okay I didn't really explain the 'Nameless' thing, but just so you don't know Nameless is the alicorn on ice. It didn't work out in this chapter to explain her origin, so it may be the next one. It'll come, don't worry!


End file.
